Friday, 3 April 2020
Review: Havenfall by Sara Holland
A safe haven between four realms. The girl sworn to protect it--at any cost. New York Times bestselling author Sara Holland crafts a breathtaking new contemporary fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Holly Black.
Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds--each with their own magic--together. For generations, the inn has protected all who seek refuge within its walls, and any who disrupt the peace can never return.
For Maddie Morrow, summers at the inn are more than a chance to experience this magic first-hand. Havenfall is an escape from reality, where her mother sits on death row accused of murdering Maddie's brother. It's where Maddie fell in love with handsome Fiorden soldier Brekken. And it's where one day she hopes to inherit the role of Innkeeper from her beloved uncle.
But this summer, the impossible happens--a dead body is found, shattering everything the inn stands for. With Brekken missing, her uncle gravely injured, and a dangerous creature on the loose, Maddie suddenly finds herself responsible for the safety of everyone in Havenfall. She'll do anything to uncover the truth, even if it means working together with an alluring new staffer Taya, who seems to know more than she's letting on. As dark secrets are revealed about the inn itself, one thing becomes clear to Maddie--no one can be trusted, and no one is safe . . .
Sara Holland takes the lush fantasy that captured readers in Everless and Evermore and weaves it into the real world to create a wholly captivating new series where power and peril lurk behind every door.
Review: Firstly I love the cover of this book, it is just stunning and soothing all at once and a beautiful cover that this contains a beautiful world within. I could definitely picture havenfall and its magical properties and that is because of Sara Holland's beautiful writing. It is so descriptive and often really profound, like in this case, 'It occurs to me, Calmly and distantly, that I've thought about things the wrong way. The difference between monsters and people; it's not a divide between Solarians and humans or anything like that, it's what we do'. I liked that it walks that balance between magical and real, I found it easy to picture and definitively believed everything that Maddie was going through.
I love a book with a strong female lead and we have that here with Maddie who aspires to be the Havenfall Inkeeper, responsible for overseeing peace delegations between worlds, when her uncle retires. I like that she has these strong desires and knows what she wants. She is ultimately flawed though and this is where a lot of the plot points come from. Maddie tries to do what she can to solve problems but she really can't always. There is an element of romance in this book and a hint of a f/f/ relationship but it is not the main plot of this one. I would have liked more to have been made of that particular relationship but this is maybe something which will be explored in the next book in the series.
This was definitely light fantasy with a lot of action, some violence but it poses a lot of questions and a lot of dilemmas for our character which I am sure will be picked up in book 2. I liked that there wasn't tons of new information to take in but I don't think that a little more detail would have hurt the pacing at all. Maddie was a good main character but I would definitely like to see a few more memorable characters in book 2 because for me, the setting in the Colorado mountains was what stuck out for me. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes in book 2.
Thursday, 2 April 2020
Review: Pretending by Holly Bourne
Care warnings for rape, sexual violence and PTSD
He said he was looking for a 'partner in crime' which everyone knows is shorthand for 'a woman who isn't real'.
He said he was looking for a 'partner in crime' which everyone knows is shorthand for 'a woman who isn't real'.
April is kind, pretty, and relatively normal - yet she can't seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she's found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry.
If only April could be more like Gretel.
Gretel is exactly what men want - she's a Regular Everyday Manic Pixie Dream Girl Next Door With No Problems.
The problem is, Gretel isn't real. And April is now claiming to be her.
As soon as April starts 'being' Gretel, dating becomes much more fun - especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua.
Finally, April is the one in control, but can she control her own feelings? And as she and Joshua grow closer, how long will she be able to keep pretending?
Review: Where do I even begin with reviewing this amazing book? How do I do this wonderful piece of fiction justice? This book is so much more than entertainment, this is the book we all needed to read, a book so many of us can identify with, I feel seen and I feel heard and I feel like so many of the things in my head have finally and honestly been put down on paper for all to read.
This book centres around April who is just such a wonderful character to spend time with, April isn't always likable and doesn't always make the best choices but she is real and she is flawed just like us and she is just so easy to relate to, to empathise with and ultimately we will all be championing her to get through this.
April has been through a lot, like so many of us and so definitively exercise care if you are triggered by rape, sexual violence or abuse of any kind. This book does deal with some tough subjects but by dealing with those subjects through character April and through this fictional world that she lives in and the fiction world she revolves around somehow there is less of an 'edge'. Rape becomes not a statistic but something that real people deal with all the time and something that not enough people bring to light or talk about what happens when life carries on. I don't know how Holly Bourne managed it but she has woven so much trauma and so much truth into this piece of fiction so that we can all read and relate and recognise.
For all that this book deals with trauma and sexual violence, there is also heart and humour throughout the pages. This writer just says it like it is, what we're all thinking and she did make me laugh as well as exclaim 'me too' so many times throughout this book. At one point April ponders 'Living Life and being an adult is terrible. Why does nobody tell you how terrible it is?' And there are other moments too where April ponders how to be the perfect date and what mean really mean when they say on their dating profile that they are looking for a 'partner in crime'. Those moments are just hilarious but definitely fall under the 'if you didn't laugh you would cry' category.
For a book that has been marketed as a romcom, some people might not expect the depth and the raw emotion that this book contains. It touched my soul and is beautifully written and everybody need to read it now. With phrases like 'leaves slug trails of guilt glistening through my blood' how could you not?
Wednesday, 1 April 2020
Guest Review: True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop by Annie Darling
It's a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in possession of a good job, four bossy sisters and a needy cat must also have want of her one true love. Or is it?
Another delightful novel from the author of The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts. Perfect for fans of Lucy Diamond and Jenny Colgan
Verity Love – Jane Austen fangirl and an introvert in a world of extroverts – is perfectly happy on her own (thank you very much), and her fictional boyfriend Peter is very useful for getting her out of unwanted social events. But when a case of mistaken identity forces her to introduce a perfect stranger as her boyfriend, Verity’s life suddenly becomes much more complicated.
Johnny could also use a fictional girlfriend. Against Verity’s better judgement, he persuades her to partner up for a summer season of weddings, big number birthdays and garden parties, with just one promise - not to fall in love with each other…
Review: This is the second book in the Lonely Hearts Bookshop series by Annie Darling. Although part of a series, this story can definitely be read as a stand-alone, as there are few references to part 1. Having enjoyed the first part, I was looking forward to this follow up story, but I was unprepared for how much it would capture my imagination and have me coming back again and again until the conclusion.
As the title suggests, this story involves the romantic fiction bookshop that we met in the first book in the series. The narrative this time revolves around Verity Love, who is in charge of the shop and lives in the flat above it. She is quite a shy person, and much prefers to work in the background than to actually have to serve customers. She is also a true romantic and is obsessed with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, of which she owns multiple copies. To keep well meaning match-making friends at bay, she has invented an imaginary boyfriend, who everyone is desperate to meet. However, in a panicked moment, she is forced to introduce a perfect stranger to some of these friends as her new boyfriend. As it happens, this man, Johnny, is looking for a ‘pretend’ girlfriend to accompany him on social engagements. So begins a summer of celebratory gatherings during which the pair get to know each other better and better, with no intention of falling in love.
I thought this a fantastically romantic story. It’s definitely one of my favourite recent reads, and to my mind better than the previous book in this series. I loved Verity as a character with her introvert ways and her habit of quoting Pride and Prejudice at every turn. Johnny, however, is obviously fantastically handsome and rich, but I had to disapprove of the way he treated Verity, and indeed some of his friends, at times. I enjoyed the way that the author has woven comedy as well as some very serious moments in with the romance. I can highly recommend this book to lovers of romance, and to Jane Austen fans, and can’t wait to get started on the next part of the series.
Cover Reveal: Hybrids, Volume 2 (Vengeance) by Jenny Dorny
Hybrids, Volume Two: Vengeance by Jennie Dorny@jenniedornyauthor @
I have another cover reveal for you this morning-how exciting is that? Hybrids Volume 2: Vengeance by Jenny Dorny comes out on Friday and you can click here to pre-order your copy now!
Here's what it's all about...
Caught in a web of murder and vengeance, Theo must outsmart the Spylady to save her new friends.
Imprisoned in a male appearance, can Nand survive deportation without losing herself?
Forced to leave Eridan after her mental battle with Keith of Rain Forest, Theo travels to Earth Metropolis with SpaceSS agent Jack Finch. When Jack is arrested for murdering his husband, Farren, Theo’s plans for a new future collapse.
To impress Declan, Nand face-changes into her cousin’s appearance on the day of the Face Changer Assembly. But her moment of triumph turns into a nightmare when Keith launches an attack against the Face Changers.
Deported to Gambling Nova, the federal prison, with Ashta and a few Face Changers, will Declan be strong enough to overcome his guilt in order to help Nand keep her male appearance and safeguard Eridan’s future?
Convinced that Farren is still alive, Theo must outsmart the Spylady if she wants to get Jack released from the penitentiary and find Farren’s whereabouts. Yet when Sheer, the Savalwomen leader, orders her to rescue the Face Changers, Theo faces a new challenge: is she ready to return to Gambling Nova? And risk her life?
Are you ready for that cover?
Isn't it beautiful? I could just dive right in!
About The Author
Jennie Dorny was born in 1960 in Newton, Massachusetts. She lives and works in Paris with her three cats. She is both French and American. She studied American literature and civilization, Italian and history of art at three Parisian universities. She wrote her Master’s thesis about contemporary Irish poetry after spending a year in Dublin. She loves words and languages, and she can spend hours exploring a thesaurus. Over the years, she has studied Spanish, Japanese, Hindi and sign language, and recently took up Italian again. She has published in French Gambling Nova (1999), Eridan (2002) and Les Cupidons sont tombés sur la tête (Mischievous Cupids gone Crazy, 2007). Gambling Nova and Eridan are partial, earlier versions of Hybrids; science-fiction novels that in many ways deal with the question of gender.
Find more at www.jenniedorny.com and feel free to join the club.
Like Jennie Dorny’s Facebook page: facebook.com/Jennie-Dorny-
Instagram: @jenniedornyauthor
April 2020 TBR
Well...what can I say about how my April reading will be? Who knows... I am still going to put a TBR together but there are some books I am really excited to read this month and as always this will be a pool of books I have to choose from.
Just a note to say that I have read some of the April releases listed here BUT I wanted to share them with you anyway because I am so excited about the books coming out this month!
My books are broken down into April Releases, Paige Toon Readathon Books and Other Books I Want to Read...
April Releases
Paige Toon Readathon Books
Other Books I Want to Read
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